"Your Majesty." Said the guard respectfully as he kneeled before the throne while lowering his head, awaiting to be addressed by the Queen.
"Haa, what are those Nobles doing for me to have so much work? Do I need to reassign them their positions?" Muttered Violet softly with a tired expression as she sighed in defeat while reading through a stack of papers.
Although I complained about the Nobles, they did a lot of work for me, so I couldn't be that upset; I just wish they did more so I didn't have to spend hours sitting on my throne reading through papers. However, there was no fixing this problem now; all I could do was power through it and hopefully fix it sometime in the future.
"Which will not happen; I've been complaining about this for the past 100 years." Said Violet softly as she flipped to the next paper, reading its contents while comivious to the patiently waiting guard.
It took me nearly forty minutes before I finally finished reading, allowing me to toss it onto the tray beside me while I sighed in relief, only to rub my face in frustration.
"Haa, managing a Kingdom is so stressful; my Grandaunt is so lucky she remained a Princess. Being Queen sucks." Remarked Violet with a deep sigh as she rubbed her in exhaustion, only to finally notice the kneeling guard, causing her to awkwardly cough.
"How long have you been waiting?" "40 minutes, your Majesty." Said Violet and the guard, respectively, as the former's expression violently twitched in annoyance.
'So you just watched me read and remained silent!? I could've used you as an excuse to further procrastinate!' Thought Violet aggressively as she looked at the guard, who nervously gulped from her intense staring.
"Hmph, speak." Said Violet as she cleared her throat and folded her arms, causing the guard to nod.
"Someone possessing a royal medallion has just arrived, Your Majesty." Stated the guard, his words causing Violet to furrow her brows in confusion.
"How come I'm only learning about this now? Anyone, whether it be my husband, brother, children, nieces, nephews, or even parents, must inform me if they're giving someone a royal medallion." Asked Violet with a deep frown as she tapped the armrest while eyeing the guard, who remained silent.
"Did they say anything else?" "They said they've come on a mission for Princess Lavender to return an object and relay information." Remarked Violet and the guard, respectively, as the latter nodded, his words causing the former's eyes to widen.
"Grandaunt!? First, the barrier surrounding our territory gets destroyed, and now this occurs. This can't possibly be a coincidence. Who is this person?" Exclaimed Violet with a shocked expression as she looked at the guard with a somewhat eager expression.
"T-They wear a cloak concealing all their features, but their voice is that of a man." Replied the guard, his word greatly dampening Violet's enthusiasm, only for her to shake her head.
"Hmm, it could still very well be Grandaunt; she's a terrifyingly powerful Mage; changing her voice should be as easy as breathing for her." Muttered Violet hopefully as she tapped her chin with an enthusiastic expression.
'If it is Grandaunt, Grandmother will definitely wish to be there, but, ugh, I don't like it when she moves around too much.' Thought Violet with furrowed brows as she rubbed her head in annoyance.
As much as I didn't want to, I knew Grandmother would be thoroughly livid with me if she were to learn Grandaunt had returned and she wasn't there to greet her; even if this weren't Grandaunt, she would still be upset.
With a sigh, I waved my hand, causing my shadow to darken as an inkly black figure emerged from my shadow before silently kneeling right beside me.
"You heard him correct? Inform my family, tell them it's urgent; I want them all within the Throne room within twenty minutes." Stated Violet firmly as she glanced at the inky black figure, who nodded before suddenly vanishing.
It's been several decades since Grandaunt last visited, so everyone should be present to hear and possibly greet her. She was also the most senior among us, even slightly older than Grandmother, so out of respect, we should all be present.
'Besides, it would be nice if my children could meet their Great-Grandaunt; they've only heard tales about her, ones they don't fully believe.' Thought Violet with a faint smile as she rested her chin on her hands while reminiscing about Lavender.
With news regarding Grandaunt, unsurprisingly, the first to arrive was Mother and Father as they entered the throne room; they walked slowly, but they were steady, clearly staying active in their later years now that they'd passed the thousand-mark threshold. When they neared me, they both bowed out of respect to the crown rather than to me personally.
"We heard the news regarding Aunt and practically ran here, especially your mother; she's always loved Aunt." Said Fathen with a small smile as he patted his chest and gestured to Aster, who brushed her long white hair behind her horns while faintly blushing.
"Aunt would always spoil me as a child, telling tales of her adventures and bringing various items back whenever she visited." Said Aster softly as she glanced at Fathen while approaching Violet, who lightly chuckled with an understanding nod.
"Though it's been so long since she's last visited, it's been nearly a century; she usually doesn't take so long to return home." Added Aster with furrowed brows and a skeptical gaze as she glanced at Violet, who shook her head in confusion.
Before any of us could respond, my Uncle and both of my Aunts entered the throne room alongside their children, who were my cousins, amounting to a total of nine.
"I heard Aunt has returned. Is it true?" Asked Iris with a stern expression, though the excitement that laced his voice was apparent to all, causing Aster to chuckle.
"I do not know the specifics, Uncle; I've only received word that someone wearing a cloak with a man's voice has arrived; they also possess a royal medallion… The only missing is the one in Grandaunt's possession." Replied Violet with a shake of her head as she watched Iris, her aunt, and their families bow before the throne.
"Hmm? So it's a man, not Aunt? If that's so, why did you summon us all?" Asked Dahlia with a frown as she narrowed her eyes at Violet, causing Aster to furrow her brows though she remained silent.
"Because Grandaunt ordered them specifically, that alone should warrant all of the Royal Family to gather in one place." Replied Violet softly as she stared at Dahlia, who clicked her tongue before remaining silent.
Sighing at my Aunt, I greeted my cousins with a nod, and since I was on good terms with them, they all returned the gesture, with Peony going a little overboard and causing me to nearly chuckle. While waiting, the doors to the throne room were opened a few minutes later, and I was expecting it to be our children, though instead, it was Grandmother entering the room on a hovering chair while a personal attendant walked directly beside her.
"Even Grandmother came?" "You know she wouldn't miss anything regarding Grandaunt." Said Peony and Calla, respectively, as the former widened her eyes in shock while the latter softly shook his head.
Grandmother was by far the oldest one among us as she has lived for over two thousand years, though I heard it was thanks to a very powerful potion Grandaunt gave her a long time ago that increased her life span; otherwise, she would've long since perished. However, even so, she's reaching close to the end of her life; she can hardly move for more than a few minutes without feeling dizzy.
"Mother, I don't think you needed to come for this; the person Violet referred to wasn't even Grandaunt." Said Dahlia respectfully as she looked at Azalea, who slowly raised her head while dismissively waving her hand.
"It is regarding Lavender. I-I don't care if she merely sent a note; I-I will attend. Also, it's Queen Vestalis." Said Azalea hoarsely as she glanced at Dahila, whose expression twitched, before shifting her focus to Violet, only to aggressively cough.
"Softly, Madam." Said China, the personal attendant, as she used her glowing hands to stop Azalea's cough, soothing her pain.
Once Grandmother neared the throne, the hovering chair lowered to the ground, allowing her to slowly stand up, refusing China's assistance as she approached me before bowing to the crown atop my head.
"T-That's my physical e-exercise for the day." Said Azalea softly as she gently lowered herself back into the chair with China's help, her words causing everyone to faint smile in amusement before sighing.
"Where are my Great grandchildren?" Asked Azalea as she observed her surroundings, searching for several people but to no avail.
"They haven't arrived yet, Grandmother." Said Calla respectfully as he looked at Azalea, whose expression soured.
"Tch, t-those foolish brats!" Yelled Azalea hoarsely in slight anger as she gripped her armrest, only for her to aggressively cough, prompting China to place a glowing hand on her arm.
"Try not to get worked up, Mother. I'm sure Queen Vestalis will properly punish them." Said Iris lightly with a soft expression as he gently rubbed Azalea's hand, soothing her fury.
"Hmph, they better; otherwise, I'll do it myself." Declared Azalea, her words causing everyone to fearfully gulp, having experienced her punishments before.